North Carolina Film Critics Association

5 hours ago

Review: Underwater from member Zach Goins.

Well… it’s January, folks. That means it’s time to struggle through a slew of mediocre movies until the exciting ones show up, and director William Eubank’s “Underwater” is here to get things started.

After wrapping production all the way back in 2017, “Underwater” ended up trapped in the Disney-Fox merger, and as a result, the film was delayed all the way until 2020 – hence the appearance of since-cancelled actor T.J. Miller. However, it may have been a better decision for all parties involved if the thing had just been scrapped altogether.

In theaters now. #Underwater ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

7 hours ago

Home Release Review: "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" from member Douglas Davidson.

1994 low budget comedy "Clerks" is writer/director Kevin Smith’s first film and the foundation for a 25-year strong series of films, comics, a cartoon, and a cartoon television show that have entertained literal generations of audiences. Dubbed the “View Askewniverse” by fans, the characters of Smith’s work largely inhabit the same world, frequently overlapping physically or merely by verbal reference. Sometimes, and with more increasing frequency in the last 20 years, it is a meta-vibe wherein notable casts members like Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and others reference Smith’s other non-canonical Askewniverse works, implying that the projects do exist, making them tangentially related. In short, Kevin Smith found a way to make a career out of designing and developing his own projects with his friends and loved ones, bringing us along for the ride with him. In what appears to be the pinnacle production of extreme fan-service and id-fellatio, Smith’s latest film, "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot", brings together just about every familiar face audiences have met and loved in a story that’s hilariously familiar and with a heart bigger than Jay’s junk. BONG.

Available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital now. #JayandSilentBobReboot ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

9 hours ago

Review: The River and the Wall from member Andrew Spitznas.

Like a good book, a good documentary expands the mind and challenges ignorance. Prior to watching "The River and the Wall", I conceived of the Texas-Mexico border as a parched, sun-drenched scrubland. (That’s what happens when your only personal experience of Texas is a few days in San Antonio.)

Now, courtesy of this beautifully shot, engrossing documentary, I know that the border country is so much more. Defined across its 1200 miles by the path of the Rio Grande, it includes mountains, buttes, canyons, subtropical regions, and farmland that is arable year-round. Because of this multiplicity of ecosystems, it is home to diverse wildlife, from mountain lions and black bear, to butterflies and birds.

Available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital now. #TheRiverandtheWall ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

11 hours ago

Review: Dolittle from member Matt Brunson.

When it comes to "Dolittle", the third film adaptation based on the children’s books by Hugh Lofting (the second was a tepid Eddie Murphy vehicle from 1998), I expect that not even the promise of ownership of a small Caribbean island could entice Academy members to vote for this dismal dud (then again, following the absurd bestowing of 11 nominations on the ridiculous "Joker", I wouldn’t put anything past these easily swayed voters). Somehow, this version manages to be even worse than the ’67 model — a remarkable achievement, really.

In theaters now. #Dolittle ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

13 hours ago

Review: "Beanpole" from member Matthew Lucas.

It isn't often that you see a debut film so assured in style and personality that the filmmaker's unique voice and presence seems to have manifested on screen fully formed and wholly confident in its own power. That's not to say that Kantemir Balagov's "Beanpole" is a masterpiece to rival all-time debut films like "Citizen Kane" or even "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" or "The Witch" to use two more recent examples, but Balagov directs with such a clear voice that it's astonishing that this wasn't directed by a filmmaker with years of experience under their belt.

In select theaters January 29 2020. #Beanpole ...